Chapter 315: Chapter 209: Starting Off with a Green Grouper

Guo Xiao was piloting the boat, while Wang Junhe stood by curiously, watching the two of them set up their live-streaming equipment.

After all, few fishermen bothered with live-streaming; most stuck to making short videos.

The main reason was that too many fishermen got skunked. Staring at a motionless float for hours on end with no bites—how could a live-stream like that possibly hold an audience?

To get a really good signal for deep-sea fishing, you’d need a high-quality, portable mobile base station, which was basically something only the rich could afford.

And what rich person would be bothered to live-stream? All that effort for so little money.

It was only because Yi Chen wanted to start an online business that Gu Nan even considered streaming occasionally; he had no intention of becoming a professional streamer.

Besides, he felt his luck had been pretty good ever since binding with the game. To put it simply, his fishing karma was strong. Even if he didn’t get a fish on every cast, his hook-up rate was high, which is why he dared to try live-streaming at all.

Setting up the tripod and taking out the GoPro, Gu Nan had also bought two backup phones, and of course, the laptop and portable power station were all ready.

"You two are really prepared. Planning to get into streaming?" Wang Junhe peered at the camera, using it as a mirror and vainly flicking his bangs.

Gu Nan calmly moved the camera away and said, "Not really. Some of the followers on Chenchen’s account have been placing orders for seafood, so we figured we’d try live-streaming to see if we can attract more orders and build up the online business."

Wang Junhe was shameless, though. As the camera moved, he just shuffled his feet to keep his face right in the frame.

"That’s not a bad idea. Retail prices online are higher, and if you get enough volume, it’s more profitable than selling to restaurants. But restaurants and hotels are your bread and butter, so don’t throw away the watermelon to pick up a sesame seed."

That last part was clearly a reminder. He only said it because they were on good, familiar terms; otherwise, he wouldn’t have bothered.

"Thanks for the reminder, Brother Wang. I definitely won’t let go of the hotel business." Gu Nan naturally understood his good intentions, thanking him with a smile before moving the camera away again.

Yi Chen, standing beside them, couldn’t help but chuckle. The two of them were talking business so seriously, but their actions were as childish as little kids.

"No need to be so formal with me."

Wang Junhe sounded magnanimous, but when he saw the camera move away again, he couldn’t help but roll his eyes. ’I haven’t had enough time to admire my own handsome face yet!’

Gu Nan just smiled and didn’t reply, instead starting the live-stream to test it.

Since he wasn’t sure if it would work, he hadn’t announced it to his followers in advance, so no one joined when the stream went live.

After a few minutes, seeing that the stream was running without any issues, Gu Nan ended it for the time being. He then posted a notice stating that he would start a deep-sea fishing live-stream at 9 p.m.

He didn’t know the exact fishing spot Guo Xiao was heading to, but he knew the approximate distance and travel time.

They had set out shortly before 9 a.m. and should arrive around 7 p.m.

Announcing a 9 p.m. start time gave them some buffer, and besides, fish were generally more active around that time.

Traveling was incredibly boring. Even with an internet connection for watching videos or shows to pass the time, the ten-odd hours were still a slog.

Wang Junhe, tired from just returning from a business trip, was fast asleep in his cabin.

Gu Nan watched shows and videos with Yi Chen until a little after 3 p.m., but he just couldn’t take it anymore.

He didn’t know why, but as soon as he was out on the sea, he’d get an itch all over. He just couldn’t stand not holding a fishing rod.

He’d never really given trolling a proper try, so he figured he might as well test it out today.

When Yi Chen heard Gu Nan was going to try trolling, she got excited too. Of course, she wasn’t going to fish, just watch.

Bucket hat, polarized sunglasses, face covering, sun shirt—he was covered from head to toe, with only his fingertips exposed. Even his palms were protected by cut-resistant gloves.

Yi Chen was dressed similarly, but instead of a face covering, she wore a wide-brimmed sun hat that could shield her entire face.

She wasn’t idle either. She held up the GoPro, planning to film some footage. Whether they’d end up using it or not was another question.

Gu Nan had already set up his rod and tackle inside the cabin. He attached a ten-centimeter-long artificial lure, suitable for catching medium to slightly larger fish—the ten-to-twenty-pound kind.

Guo Xiao’s boat had an inboard engine, unlike his own small boat.

So he went straight to the stern, casually raised his rod, and with a flick, sent the lure flying far out.

Trolling requires you to travel along a fish highway for fish to follow and even take the hook, and of course, Gu Nan knew this.

But he had no idea where those specific trolling lanes were; only an experienced sailor or boatman would be able to find them.

He was just trying his luck. Whether he caught anything depended on whether a blind cat could stumble upon a dead mouse.

As it turned out, the lure had only been speeding through the water for about a minute and a half when the rod tip suddenly bent sharply. Gu Nan’s eyes lit up.

He felt a distinct pull, and it was surprisingly heavy—though he wasn’t sure if that was because of the boat’s momentum.

Gu Nan yanked the rod hard to set the hook, then quickly cranked the handle to reel in the line. In less than two minutes, a long, slender fish was dragged to the stern. As soon as he saw it, he grabbed the line and lifted the fish aboard.

It was a seventy- or eighty-centimeter Sea Wolf—not particularly big, nor a particularly tasty fish.

Gu Nan used a hook remover to free the hook and tossed the fish into a nearby box.

’Sea Wolves may not be tasty, but I can’t just throw it back after I’ve already caught it!’

Yi Chen hurried over from the side and got a close-up shot of the Sea Wolf.

She had only ever heard of this fish; this was the first time she had seen one.

During the fishing ban, none of the shops near the old store sold Sea Wolves. After the season opened, they were surely in the markets, but by then she was at the new store, and they didn’t sell such cheap fish.

"Ah Nan, this fish actually looks pretty good. Should we cook it tonight?"

"This fish doesn’t taste good. Let’s wait and see. If I can catch a mackerel or something else, we’ll cook that instead." Gu Nan refused with a decisive shake of his head.

"Well, good luck then!" Yi Chen wasn’t disappointed; she had only been a little curious.

But after a little while, Gu Nan caught another Sea Wolf. He felt a pang of disappointment. ’Looks like we won’t be eating fresh, delicious fish tonight.’

Fortunately, trolling was indeed a good way to pass the time, and he was having a blast.

As for Yi Chen, she filmed for a little while before going to prepare dinner. They wouldn’t reach their destination until 7:30 or even 8:00 p.m., so she naturally had to get dinner ready in advance.

Dinner was simple. After they ate, Gu Nan and the others went to the cabin to relieve Guo Xiao. The fishing boat didn’t stop, continuing until it reached the destination on the GPS at 7:53 p.m.

When the GPS announced their arrival, Wang Junhe took the helm manually and steered them toward another one of their secret fishing spots.

They had spent some time and effort to discover this spot. If they weren’t already on such good terms with Gu Nan, they never would have brought an outsider here.

While everyone else was getting ready to start fishing, Yi Chen began to take out the live-streaming equipment and set everything up.

The fish finder showed traces of fish at a depth of thirty to forty meters, and in good numbers. At that moment, Gu Nan and the others were chopping up sardines with knives, clearly about to chum the waters to gather the fish.

Otherwise, even with a lot of fish around, getting a good haul would still be difficult. Once the chum started to take effect, it would be the perfect time to start the live-stream.

The prep work was time-consuming. For convenience, Gu Nan and the other two men had prepared two large crates of chum.

They definitely wouldn’t use it all tonight. The rest would be put back in the refrigerated hold to be used the next day.

At a little after 8:40, Yi Chen started the stream about ten minutes early.

She aimed the camera at Gu Nan, keeping the other two out of the shot. After checking the feed on the laptop and confirming the network was stable, she made a brief appearance on camera herself to explain the situation.

Then, seeing that Gu Nan had already started fishing, she moved over to film him.

Yi Chen didn’t say much to the stream at this point, mainly because there was hardly anyone there, and the bullet comments were few and far between.

He had used an artificial lure for trolling in the afternoon, but now that it was night, Gu Nan was using live shrimp. He wasn’t using the electric reel rod, however, holding a Bering Sea rod in his hands instead.

By now, the chum had gathered plenty of fish. Not even a minute after he cast his line, the rod tip suddenly quivered slightly. A fish was nibbling at the bait.

Gu Nan’s focus sharpened instantly. Feeling the fish take the bait through the rod’s feedback, he immediately and quickly jerked the rod upward to set the hook.

The rod immediately bent into an arc, and the line was being pulled out continuously. Fortunately, the drag was set to maximum, and the fish wasn’t strong enough to pull out the line very quickly.

"Fish on, fish on! This spot we found tonight is great, a bite as soon as the line was in!" Yi Chen said excitedly. She had a microphone clipped to her collar, so her voice came through clearly on the live-stream.

[Damn, deep-sea fishing is no joke. Don’t mind the cost of all that chum they threw out earlier, the bites are coming fast!]

[I gotta say, sea fishing looks more interesting than platform fishing. So many types of sea fish, it makes you more excited to see what you’ve caught.]

There weren’t many people in the stream, but a couple of viewers popped up when the fish was hooked.

Gu Nan braced the rod, feeling the fish’s strength. After getting a rough idea of its size, he didn’t bother playing it and just started cranking the handle to reel the line in quickly.

The fish in the sea, its mouth aching from the hook, struggled continuously, but it was no match for him in a contest of brute force.

In just three minutes, a grouper appeared on the surface of the water.

"Nice, it’s a green grouper, about three or four pounds. A good start to the night." After seeing the fish, Gu Nan grabbed the line and lifted it right up.

He then removed the hook, deliberately lifted the fish with a fish gripper, and showed it to the camera.

It was almost 9:00 p.m. by now, and the number of viewers in the live-stream was slowly increasing.

Yi Chen was using a second phone to monitor the stream, giving her a direct view of what was happening. Seeing that there were many more people than before, she zoomed the camera in on the fish and gave a brief introduction.

"Most of you are probably familiar with green groupers; they’re relatively common in the wild. The current market price is around eighty yuan per jin, which isn’t too expensive. If any of you are interested, you should buy one and try it. The smaller ones have tender meat and taste absolutely amazing."

[666]

[Got it. Buy the small fish.]

[Damn, eighty a jin isn’t considered expensive?!]

[For a grouper, eighty a jin really isn’t expensive. Only farmed pearl gentian groupers are cheaper than this. Most others are more expensive than green groupers.]

Gu Nan was just focused on fishing. Once the showing off was done, he tossed the green grouper into the livewell and went back to fishing.

Nearby, Guo Xiao and Wang Junhe had also hooked fish and were in the middle of fighting them. This meant there were a lot of fish around at the moment, and they weren’t small, either.

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